"Fox's broadcast of the April 4 Samsung/RadioShack 500 from Texas Motor Speedway drew a final Nielsen Media Research rating of 6.0, the Sports Business Daily reports. The figure represents a 4.8 percent drop from last year's 6.3. A Dallas Morning News story says overall NASCAR ratings on Fox are down 5 percent this year.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter). , The Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway scored a 6.0 in the national ratings. That's down from last year's 6.3. Overall, NASCAR's ratings on Fox going into the Easter break are down 5 percent. In Dallas-Fort Worth, the local rating was up 32 percent from a 5.6 to a 7.4. The rating in Dallas-Fort Worth was 11th best in the nation. Three Carolina markets were 1-2-3. Greensboro, N.C. (17.3) topped the list, followed by Greenville, S.C. (14.1) and Charlotte (12.9)."

I think if NASCAR officials went to sites like this one, or even talked to fans who gather each week for the races, they can get some good ideas as to how to improve the ratings.

At least some of the ratings decline must be blamed on Fox's mistakes and their unwillingness to change. If Chris Myers and Jeanne Zelasko are so bad, why are they back for their fourth year?

Also, it appears that ratings in some of the southeastern markets are three times as high as the national average, reflecting poor ratings in some of their new target markets. For example, here in Los Angeles, the telecasts often have lower audiences than Mexican soccer games.